WILMINGTON –US president-elect Joe Biden expressed frustration yesterday over Donald Trump’s refusal to cooperate on the White House transition process, saying “more people may die” of the coronavirus without immediate coordination on fighting the surging pandemic.
Biden was declared winner of the November 3 election but Trump has not conceded, and his administration has so far failed to formally acknowledge the veteran Democrat as the president-elect.
That leaves Biden and his team unable to coordinate with government officials on the crucial continuity of issues like national security, as well as emergencies like a distribution plan for Covid-19 vaccines to tens of millions of Americans.
Biden, asked at a press conference about the greatest threat from Trump’s obstruction of a smooth transfer of power, said “more people may die if we don’t coordinate” on distributing vaccines as quickly as possible.
“If we have to wait until (inauguration day on) January 20 (next year) to start that planning, it puts us behind for a month, a month and a half,” he told the press in his hometown here.
“And so, it’s important that it be done, that there be coordination now.”
Several experts, including former Trump administration officials, have warned that the outgoing president’s refusal to cooperate on the transition while he challenges election results in court could have devastating consequences as the nation grapples with Covid-19 spikes.
The US added a million new cases in less than a week, a dizzying rise to more than 11 million infections and 246,000 deaths, a global high. – AFP, November 17, 2020
